1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toys and, more particularly, to a toy for dispensing gasfilled bags for amusement purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide horns, clappers, bells, and other noisemakers for both stress reduction and amusement for sporting events, celebrations, parties, and the like. However, these devices often do not rise to the instant gratification, amusement, and stress relief provided by forcibly causing a loud noise by a destructive act. Therefore, while known noisemakers may be suitable for the particular purposes to which they address, they do not fully satisfy specific recreational and stress reduction requirements.
One related, classic, and almost inexplicable form of amusement or stress reduction is to pop a balloon or balloons. The associated loud xe2x80x9cpoppingxe2x80x9d noise or xe2x80x9cbangxe2x80x9d is often amusing to children and generally allows people to release destructive energy in a safe and harmless manner.
A similar common means for amusement or stress reduction involves bursting or destroying the individual bubbles in sheets of bubble packing material. Sheets of bubble packing material have numerous small bubbles that can be bursted by squeezing or crushing. The noise associated with popping the bubbles provides amusement to children, and the action of popping the bubbles provides a harmless outlet for stress for both children and adults. For this and other reasons, xe2x80x9cbubble sheetsxe2x80x9d have been incorporated into inventions as stress reduction and amusement devices, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,681,203, 4,848,743, 5,865,664 and 5,484,318. However, the associated noise is relatively quiet in comparison to that made by popping balloons or larger air containers, and, normally, only one person at a time can burst the bubbles in the packing material.
Typically, the bubble packing sheet used in the above-listed inventions is a sheet of polymeric material with a plurality of small gas filled pockets or bubbles. The flexible bubble sheet can be wrapped around packaged goods in order to provide a protective, cushioning layer of gas. But, as mentioned above, the material often provides a secondary purpose upon delivery of a package as recipients can amuse themselves by bursting the bubbles in the packing material.
Another recent packing material development is the use of larger gas bags or gas pillows. These gas bags used for shipping are generally are produced in a connected or sheet-like form, and are used to fill the void between goods being shipped and the wall or inner surface of a shipping package. This helps to prevent the goods from shifting within the shipping package and provides a large volume of trapped gas to act as a cushion for the goods. These gas bags can be separated from each other to form distinct gas-filled packets. When popped, these gas packing bags generally produce a sound that is much louder than that produced by popping the smaller air pockets on bubble packing material. Moreover, several people or children can destroy the larger gas bags simultaneously.
Presently, there does not exist a toy or stress reduction device that dispenses shipping gas bags or other gas bags for amusement or stress relief. Therefore, there exists an opportunity and need to incorporate gas bags into a novel storage and dispensing apparatus to form a new amusement and stress reduction toy.
In accordance with this invention, a gas bag toy including a storage container and dispensing mechanism is provided which allows individual or multiple gas bags to be dispensed for destruction. The invention includes three primary components: one or more gas bags; a tubelike container for containing the gas bags; and a strip of material roughly twice the length of the container""s interior for use in dispensing the gas bags from the container. The strip of material is placed in the interior of the container in a generally U-shaped configuration and the gas bags are aligned serially within the container and the strip of material. One end of the strip of material is secured to an open end of the container and the other end of the strip of material exits from the same end of the container, but is not secured. As the gas bags rest within the U-shaped portion of the strip of material, pulling on the free end of the ribbon dispenses individual bags from the open end of the container. The bags can then be destroyed by applying pressure to burst the bag, such as by stamping a bag under foot.
In one embodiment, the gas bags are individual gas-filled cells or pillows typically used as packaging material. The gas bags may be pillow-shaped and approximately two inches by two inches in size, with the container having an inner diameter that is slightly less than the diameter of the gas bags. In this manner, the gas bags may be pressed into the container and the friction created by the slight compression of the bags retains the bag within the container until such time as it is desired to dispense the bags. The strip of material comprises a string, ribbon, or other flexible elongate material. The container can be constructed from a material such as paper, plastic, or cardboard that is preferably inexpensive or even disposable.